marshals. >> reporter: you've seen it on tv. >> facial recognition match on the father. >> reporter: and in the movies for years. now it may soon be coming to a city near you, the fbi's billion dollar project will use available surveillance cameras to scan faces and match those images against their national database of known criminals. dubbed the next generation identification program, face recognition, dna, iris scans and voice identification will make it harder for the most wanted to hide. some worry about the potential to invade privacy, others believe it's a crime-fighting tool whose time has come. >> you've got to go after them where they are and you have to go after them smart with intelligence and special operations. >> reporter: as we approach the anniversary of september 11th, a new bulletin obtained from abc news from law enforcement says officials have been told of a decline in 9/11 messaging by al qaeda, but warned lone offender threats are still a concern. security sources tell us attacks by lone wolves are harder to track making this new technology all the more useful.